OGFJ100P company update

John S. Herold Inc., the trusted independent research firm, has once again provided OGFJ with updated production data for our periodic ranking of US-based private E&P companies.
July 1, 2007
3 min read

John S. Herold Inc., the trusted independent research firm, has once again provided OGFJ with updated production data for our periodic ranking of US-based private E&P companies. Once again, these rankings are based on operated production only within the United States.

With regard to the top 10, a few companies were bumped and shuffled in the rankings. Samson Lone Star LP moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 on the list, surpassing Yates Petroleum Corp. with 21,185,895 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to Yates’ 18,966,608. LLOG Exploration Co. jumped 3 spots to No. 7 with 14,643,593 boe, beating out Walter Oil & Gas Corp. who moved down one spot this cycle, from No. 7 to No. 8. Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. took a dramatic tumble down to from No. 9 in April to No. 27. J-W Operating Co. moved into the top 10 this month, up 3 spots from No. 13 in April with an increase in production from 9,094,478 to 10,608,160.

J-W Wireline Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary of JW Operating Co., continues its growth and expansion plans with the opening of a new office in Monahans, Tex., and the addition of two members to its management team. John L. Welge has been added as regional manager for the Rocky Mountains region and Brent Kirschner is now the corporate sales manager for the company.

Another major change in the list is that Continental Resources, who showed up in the No. 12 spot in April, has been removed from the list. The Enid, Okla.-based company went public in May and is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Another previously listed company is Venoco Inc. The company, appearing at No. 30 in the April issue, has since gone public and is also trading shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The company recently reported financial and operating results for the first quarter of 2007. For the quarter Venoco produced 1.59 MMboe, up 58% from the first quarter of 2006. It reported a net loss of $10.4 million in the period, as compared to first quarter 2006 net income of $5.1 million. The $10.4 million first quarter 2007 net loss includes the effect of $17.0 million ($10.3 million after related income taxes) in unrealized mark-to-market derivative losses (non-cash) related to its commodity hedging program.

The Denver-based company also elected Dr. M.W. Scoggins and Richard S. Walker to Venoco’s board of directors. Scoggins is president of Colorado School of Mines. Walker is currently executive vice president of DHR International, a global executive search firm.

Added to this month’s list are the names of more executive officials. For unranked Sovereign Oil & Gas, Joseph Bruso, Jr.’s name has been added as founder, chairman, and CEO; and CW Murray, Jr.’s name was added as president.

OGFJ and John S. Herold will continue to update the information as new production figures become available. Future issues of OGFJ will contain production volumes broken down into total gas production and total liquids production, as well as news and relevant information regarding individual companies.

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